Mitsubishi India is planning to shelve the production of its outdated Pajero SFX by September-October 2012. The company has been selling the model in India even though it has been taken off the international market quite a while ago. Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) aficionados associate a great brand recall and an epic stature with this particular make of car. This is what has contributed to the long innings of the vehicle in the Indian market despite a flurry of better options available.
Another factor is that even though a replacement to the former model is available in Pajero Sport, which was launched in March, it is not available for sale because of import constraints. At present the replacement model is sold in the country through Completely Built Unit (CBU) route. Mitsubishi has plans to assemble Pajero Sport, which is built on Triton pick up platform, through Completely Knocked Down (CKD) kits from September-October 2012.
Once the model starts assembling locally through CKD kits, company will retire Pajero SFX in order to safeguard the sales volume of Pajero Sport. This may happen as the local assembly of replacement model will cut its price short and bring it close to the Pajero SFX in terms of price.
Since the previous generation model SFX has reached the end of its product life cycle, this SUV was made compliant to BS4 few months back.
The older model of Pajero has proven its off-roading capabilities over the time despite featuring a leaner powertrain unit, which churns 108 bhp and 260 Nm of torque. The sheer brilliance of the capabilities displayed by the epic model makes it a rave amongst the off-roading community. On the other hand, its replacement model boasts of a 2.5 Litre common rail turbo diesel powertrain, which churns out 176 bhp and 400 Nm of torque which comes coupled with manual transmission unit. Pajero Sport comes in a four-wheel drive option using a shift-on-the-fly 4WD system. This seven seater SUV priced at Rs. 23.65 lacs (Ex-showroom, Delhi) will compete with Toyota Fortuner and Ford Endeavour in its segment. The shelving of Pajero SFX may come as a shock to the true blue SUV enthusiast; however, Pajero sports with its impressive specs may fill the void.
